OT 19/3: Live Sports. ESPN+ Originals. The Exclusive Home of the Complete 30 for 30 Library. Exclusive Articles and Tools. Top Leagues and Tournaments.

[Hoek]

Is it true that Meta holds the rights to x.com?

Not the domain. Just the trademark to use X with social media apparently.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Not the domain. Just the trademark to use X with social media apparently.

Thanks. From what I’ve read the vision for X is to provide some kind of banking/payment functionality and food/taxi ordering services in addition to classic Twitter features (sounds a lot like the Chinese WeChat). So X shouldn’t have any trademark issues then, right? As it’s (going to be) much more than just social media.

I still don’t get the timing of the rebranding. Why not do it when new (big) features are actually available? Why change the look and name of a top-20 brand in the world without offering anything new (for now) to the users and shareholders?

 

[Hoek]

Thanks. From what I’ve read the vision for X is to provide some kind of banking/payment functionality and food/taxi ordering services in addition to classic Twitter features (sounds a lot like the Chinese WeChat). So X shouldn’t have any trademark issues then, right? As it’s (going to be) much more than just social media.

I still don’t get the timing of the rebranding. Why not do it when new (big) features are actually available? Why change the look and name of a top-20 brand in the world without offering anything new (for now) to the users and shareholders?

Well Microsoft also owns the X trademark for the banking/payment stuff, lol. They're screwed on both ends likely

 

[Felonious Python]

Even if the current X logo is a placeholder, it's too similar, and too generic, to not get scrutiny.

Musk rushes out new Twitter logo—it’s just an X that someone tweeted at him

X logo looks like a Unicode symbol and the lower-case x from a Monotype font.

arstechnica.com

If they're taking the Twitter sign off of the office (which got shut down by police due to lack of permits), what are they putting up?

 

[JoVel]

Everyone needs to be careful what they call videos posted on X or there might be misunderstandings.

 

[Felonious Python]

At least Elon can fall back on his hyperloops.

 

[Felonious Python]

Pickleball investment feels like the next esports type bubble.

I don't get why VC isn't going into volleyball. It gets the biggest pop on Twitter every Summer Olympics, but nothing comes from it. It can be played by men and women, indoors or outdoors, and most of us have some level of experience with it through playing it in PE or gym classes in school. Existing tennis courts can handle volleyball. They just need to raise the nets.

Volleyball is also a spectator sport, unlike pickleball. This video was posted 2 days ago and has over a million views.


Handball is another good candidate.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=pickleball,volleyball,mma,handball&hl=en-US

Pickleball will probably max out at pro bowling, darts, or something like squash. Social activities.

 

[Felonious Python]

Spectrum Q2 earnings are out. 77k internet adds, -200k TV losses, 648k mobile adds.

Other companies Q2:
Verizon: 418k internet adds
AT&T: 251k internet adds
T-Mobile: 509k internet adds
Comcast: -19k internet losses, -543k TV losses
Roku: 1.9m new accounts

Why does this matter? Spectrum does three things. TV, internet, and phone. It's Central Florida's default cable provider. We know that traditional TV is on the decline, but if Spectrum starts losing internet subscribers, they're toast. All they have left is mobile, which is a Verizon MVNO. They become Boost Mobile.

Comcast is at least an enormous company who can rely on content creation, theme parks, etc.

 

[DMB06]

Love it. My hope is that all TV providers go under, can only benefit society.

 

[Felonious Python]

Love it. My hope is that all TV providers go under, can only benefit society.

Cable companies at least operate as utilities, which we'll still need. Wired internet will always have a place, especially in the corporate world. Microsoft or Netflix aren't going to run their servers on Wi-Fi. 5G also pretty much sucks right now. The range is far more limited than 4G, and has trouble going through walls. (Verizon's modem is even supposed to be placed near a window). Even if you have a 5G device, 4G may still give you better, more reliable speed.

Fixed Wireless like Verizon and T-Mobile are based on 5G. It's not available everywhere (I can't get fixed wireless from either right now, for instance), so that delay may help Spectrum, but it seems it'll come down to the package deal. What combination of companies can get people the most reliable and affordable phone and internet?

I don't think speed matters too much, as long as it's decent. Even Netflix's recommendations are incredibly low. Watch in 4k with only 15 Mbps. Spectrum's lowest tier is 300 Mbps.

 

[Hoek]

Spectrum is my only wired provider so I'd rather not root for them to die, lol.

 

[Felonious Python]

video from 3 weeks ago on Pickleball:

Claims a 500% increase in YouTube viewership increase year-over-year.

Major League Pickleball (MLP) has 16.1k subs on YouTube. The last video of theirs that got over 1,000 views was posted 9 days ago. Explosive, supersonic growth. 10x. 100x.

I don't understand (well, I do understand) why they want franchise teams. Tennis doesn't do that. Golf doesn't do that. Pro Pickleball teams have like four players. Do they really need a draft? Why wouldn't someone just come along and copy the pro tennis model once there were a few big names they could promote?

That's why the only MLP I will watch religiously is My Little Pony.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Is anybody here planning on picking up Cities Skylines 2 when it releases? I’d like to but I think my PC is getting too old.

 

[Felonious Python]

Is anybody here planning on picking up Cities Skylines 2 when it releases? I’d like to but I think my PC is getting too old.

It's too early to tell, IMO. There isn't really an advantage to buying early (and pre-orders on a digital game don't make sense, IMO.) The modding community will also need a few days/weeks to start picking up.

So far, I don't really see any killer new features that would only be possible in CS2.

 

[Felonious Python]

Epic Games Store right now is pretty good. Loop Hero and Bloons 6 free to claim this week, with EU4 and Orwell going free week.

 

[These Are The Days]

I now remember why I haven't played Halo 1 in years. The only thing more boring and redundant than killing hoards of zombie monsters chasing after you is the tedious and disgustingly repetitive level layouts. Don't worry. You'll figure out you went backwards into the 3rd or 4th different room that looks exactly like the others later. Just try not to get lost as you correct your way while the flood continue to chase you around. I understand trying to make an expansive layout but 343 have no recourse for what they did. I am tempted to quit playing in disgust.

If the Halo franchise wasn't anchored by one of the greatest plotlines ever written, it would have just been a cult favorite. Something like MDK but on Xbox

 

[Felonious Python]

I now remember why I haven't played Halo 1 in years. The only thing more boring and redundant than killing hoards of zombie monsters chasing after you is the tedious and disgustingly repetitive level layouts. Don't worry. You'll figure out you went backwards into the 3rd or different 4th room that looks exactly like the others later. Just try not to get lost as you correct your way while the flood continue to chase you around. I understand trying to make an expansive layout but 343 have no recourse for what they did. I am tempted to quit playing in disgust.

If the Halo franchise wasn't anchored by one of the greatest plotlines ever written, it would have just been a cult favorite. Something like MDK but on Xbox

Halo 1 was a product of its time, just as Goldeneye and Mario 64 were, but for why it caught on...

Halo was a launch game for the original Xbox. It was well marketed and didn't really have any competition. There weren't any Xbox franchises that had come before. I think Sega was still selling the Dreamcast at that point, while Sony and Nintendo stuck to their own systems. Halo's local multiplayer was a huge selling point (being seen as the next gen successor to Goldeneye and Perfect Dark), with its gameplay being used for early machinima (Red vs Blue), ingraining it into video game culture. I never had an original Xbox, but I knew what RvB was.

The franchise didn't really become big until Halo 2's online multiplayer (which introduced Xbox Live, and online console multiplayer to many people), followed by the absolutely massive Halo 3 marketing campaign.

 

[Outl4w]

Halo 1 was a product of its time, just as Goldeneye and Mario 64 were, but for why it caught on...

Halo was a launch game for the original Xbox. It was well marketed and didn't really have any competition. There weren't any Xbox franchises that had come before. I think Sega was still selling the Dreamcast at that point, while Sony and Nintendo stuck to their own systems. Halo's local multiplayer was a huge selling point (being seen as the next gen successor to Goldeneye and Perfect Dark), with its gameplay being used for early machinima (Red vs Blue), ingraining it into video game culture. I never had an original Xbox, but I knew what RvB was.

The franchise didn't really become big until Halo 2's online multiplayer (which introduced Xbox Live, and online console multiplayer to many people), followed by the absolutely massive Halo 3 marketing campaign.

Also it was the first system you can lan to other systems without the internet and do 16 way lan parties with 4 xboxes.

 

[DMB06]

The worst part about Halo 1 was the stupid sniper pistol. Thing would kill you across the entire map and of course it's all anyone ever used. I played the crap out of Halo 2 and 3, still two of the best multiplayer games ever IMO.

Lately I've been playing Farming Simulator 17, first game of the franchise I've ever tried and enjoy it more than I thought I would. If anyone has ever played this franchise, are the newer iterations worth trying or if you've played one you've played them all?

 

[Hoek]

Halo 1 was a product of its time, just as Goldeneye and Mario 64 were, but for why it caught on...

Halo was a launch game for the original Xbox. It was well marketed and didn't really have any competition. There weren't any Xbox franchises that had come before. I think Sega was still selling the Dreamcast at that point, while Sony and Nintendo stuck to their own systems. Halo's local multiplayer was a huge selling point (being seen as the next gen successor to Goldeneye and Perfect Dark), with its gameplay being used for early machinima (Red vs Blue), ingraining it into video game culture. I never had an original Xbox, but I knew what RvB was.

The franchise didn't really become big until Halo 2's online multiplayer (which introduced Xbox Live, and online console multiplayer to many people), followed by the absolutely massive Halo 3 marketing campaign.

As someone who was a big PC gamer at the time, Halo also had a ton of hype built up even before Microsoft made it an Xbox exclusive. I think that energy kind of carried it early on as people scrambled to get a console in order to finally play the game they had been hearing about for a couple years in advance.

 

[Felonious Python]

The worst part about Halo 1 was the stupid sniper pistol. Thing would kill you across the entire map and of course it's all anyone ever used. I played the crap out of Halo 2 and 3, still two of the best multiplayer games ever IMO.

Lately I've been playing Farming Simulator 17, first game of the franchise I've ever tried and enjoy it more than I thought I would. If anyone has ever played this franchise, are the newer iterations worth trying or if you've played one you've played them all?

In November, FS22 is finally going to release carrots, parsnips, and red beet as DLC.

Euro Truck 2 is more my thing. American Truck Simulator didn't quite click with me for some reason. Probably because the base game's map is pretty small. Just California, Nevada, and Arizona (AZ as free DLC).

 

[DMB06]

I have several hundred hours in ATS, another game I liked much more than I expected. I bought ETS a year or so ago and so far only have a few hours in it. I bought it mostly because I liked the Iceland map mod, but then learned to use it you need to own all DLC's for ETS. So, that ones going on the back burner for a bit.

 

[Felonious Python]

I have several hundred hours in ATS, another game I liked much more than I expected. I bought ETS a year or so ago and so far only have a few hours in it. I bought it mostly because I liked the Iceland map mod, but then learned to use it you need to own all DLC's for ETS. So, that ones going on the back burner for a bit.

What turns me off of ATS so much is that each state is its own DLC. Figuring AK and HI won't be included, that's 45 pieces of paid DLC. It feels like an incomplete game with only 3 states.

Euro Truck's base game represents maybe not a larger area, but a more significant one, and DLC tend to include multiple countries. Having different driving rules in the UK also adds a twist.

Epic Games Store has given away Farming Simulator 19, Train Simulator Classic, Car Mechanic Simulator 18, Lawn Mowing Simulator, and PC Building Simulator. With all those options, Farming Sim 19 didn't quite grab me.

 

[LightningStrikes]

It's too early to tell, IMO. There isn't really an advantage to buying early (and pre-orders on a digital game don't make sense, IMO.) The modding community will also need a few days/weeks to start picking up.

So far, I don't really see any killer new features that would only be possible in CS2.

You’re probably right, guess I’ll give it some time. I really like that it’s less cartoony and realistic looking.

 

[Felonious Python]

You’re probably right, guess I’ll give it some time. I really like that it’s less cartoony and realistic looking.

I looked a bit more into what has been announced for CS2. There are improvements, but they're sort of low concept and difficult to simply list. Seeing "day/night cycle", "traffic collisions" or "seasons" doesn't quite convey what they're trying to do. It'll be tough to market, but I like what they're planning on.

Traffic collisions will temporarily close roads, and affect the road network. Seasons and weather will affect energy usage. Mixed-use zoning will allow commercial and residential to exist together. Parking and its prices will affect how and where people go.

I try not to read into things not explicitly said in things like the dev insights, but an improved land value system could bring much needed depth to city building. There isn't really a reason not to entirely zone for high density once it's unlocked. There aren't any economic reasons that prevent a farmworker from living in the same building as a high-tech office worker. Everyone is comfortably middle class. Hopefully they talked to the Victoria 3 team about how their pops work. People at different levels of the social strata have different wants and needs.